What would you do?

So I'm in a bit of a financial bind right now. Basically have more expenses than income month to month. I have sold a couple things to stay afloat, but now I am down to the big decisions. I am short $600/mo because I have $600/mo in car payment/credit card payments. I can sell the car I have a payment on, and buy something cash ($4-$6k), then sell the k5 and eliminate half of the monthly credit debt payments.

I am the only one working right now cause we have a 6 mo old and my wife wants to stay home. I also want her to stay home as if she worked, it would take all her check to take care of childcare.

I hate to sell the K5, but I wont go into bankruptcy to keep it.

I need some input from the brotherhood... perhaps some of you have walked the road ahead of me... Thanks

It would be better to set the K5 aside and cover it for a year or two. If you sell it the K5 will be gone and the money you make on it soon after. Besides, you'll get the itch for another project after 6 months go by.

Sit down if you haven't already and write out an expense vs income work sheet. Look at little ways to cut down on spending, small stuff adds up quick. Find ways to spend less at the store, on fuel, on shopping, et. Come up with a weekly budget and stick to it.

Find an extra part time job, something that's just a few hours a day. Either that or request some overtime. Even a small amount of extra income will add up over time.

I have traveled that financial mess road, and it is not fun. I had three chances in life to start over. Third time it finally sunk in how to do it. No matter how much it will pain you, you have to get rid of bills.

I would sell the car. K5 free and clear? Keep that for the time being, if you sell it to make quick cash you will lose your a$$ on it. Pay the credit off anyway you can.

Even if you can only set aside five bucks a week in a savings account or a mason jar, do it, that is emergency money. It may not be much but it is something.

Just like jiminy said, the first thing you need to do is figure out where your money is going. Sit down and figure that out. You may find that you're basically wasting $200 a month on crap you don't need.

Trust me, the little things add up fast. Here's an example. I buy 2 cigars a day for $3.25. Sounds like nothing, eh? Now do the math-

$3.25 x 30 = $97.50!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I spend almost $100 a month on friggin' cigars. If I dug a little deeper, I'm willing to bet I could find another $2-300 I "waste" monthly. And that's why you need to write EVERYTHING down.

That being said, if it was a choice between my trucks and the well-being of my family, I would be walking to work on Monday morning.

Good luck, my friend. It's been a long time since I experienced financial difficulty, but just talking about it brings back yucky memories. The best thing you can do right now is get rid of extraneous serviceable debt, like your outstanding CC bill,then focus on putting that extra money on your mortgage.

It used to be recommended to try that route...reduce payments, reduce interest, etc., because if they don't help, it is going to be harder and harder to get the money from you. Lately it seems credit card companies are less likely to do this, but it doesn't hurt. All they can do is say yes or no.

If you sell the car you have payments on, are you actually going to get rid of the payments, or will you still owe money on it when you get rid of it?

Any reason the truck can't take over DD duties? Economy doesn't mean much in the near future if you are talking 1000's of $ for another vehicle. That will still buy gas for a decent period of time.

The K5 is free and clear. The wife really wont ride in it cause of the hole in the pass floorboard, but we have a saturn that she'll end up driving, and I could DD the K for a while.

Selling the ford I owe on will actually give me back money we put down on it, that in turn will pay off one of the two credit cards with a balance on them. That will eliminate about 1/2 of the debt. I only have a 4 mile commute to work, so Im not real worried about gas mileage. I am supposed to be workin on my masters degree too, but there is no way I am gonna go into more debt just to do that.

So lets hear some recommendations for part time jobs... I wouldnt mind workin nights at a parts store or something like that. What do you think?

PI agree with Paul and Dorian. 1st figure out where thw $$ is going. Write down everything you spend $$ on fo a week. You will be surprised. Most people don't thing twice about lunch ($5 vs PB&J) or a coke and candy bar at 7-11 ($3/day) or any of the other little things. That stuff adds up fast.

Second, if you can DD the K5 and its free/clear, drive it. A second car note and insurance is more than the extra gas.

If you work at a desk or single loction all day, hveyou wife drop you off/pick you up. Saves the car note and ins.

Unless you can't live without them, call the CC copanies and tell them your situation. Ask them to lower/freeze the inerest and cancel the card. Set up a low monthly payment. It's better for them than bankruptcy.

If you are in college, student loans are cheap %, easy to get and have long term repayment that does not start until you are out of college. I am not anadvocte of debt, but they got me through school. I neded them even with part time jobs.

Sorry to hear about your troubles man, I don't fully understand what some of you go through because I live at home and am still in high school so all my paychecks go into the K10 for now.

My dad has worked upwards of three jobs and at least two up until about a year ago so I can understand the strain that it puts on the family. He left at 5 in the morning and went to work as a customer service rep at a custom concrete company then left at 3:00 and went to work at a local custom motorcycle shop selling bikes. He has now moved to selling bikes full time and luckily our prayers have been answered as he just got his letter of acceptance for PG&E. That will be the best paying and most steady job he has ever had. Basically the only input I can give you is from the family's perspective. It's worth it to see you less and live comfortably than it is to have you at home always worried about how you'll make the next house payment. May sound a little harsh but I'm sure your family will feel the same way.

Ooo I almost forgot, how about a personal security company? There is a company around here called turner (I think that's what it's called) and they are hired by property managers to patrol the grounds, basically all I ever see them do is drive around and park for an hour with the a/c running in the company truck then drive to a new spot and sit some more. Not the most exciting job but for a few hours in the evening it wouldn't be so bad.

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